England and Wales find themselves placed in an identical group for the 2027 RWC, promising a major pool stage encounter in Australia. They are joined in Group F by Tonga and Zimbabwe.
This pairing mirrors their memorable meeting in the group phase of the 2015 World Cup, where Wales' victory at England's home ground played a part in the English team's surprise group stage elimination.
Other Notable Pool Pairings
The Irish alongside the Scots have likewise been drawn in a pool together, replicating the scenario from the 2023 edition. On that occasion, Ireland claimed a 36-14 win, with Scotland failing to advance to the quarter-finals.
Los Teros and Portugal, both made a strong impression as surprise packages in the last World Cup, round out that Pool D.
Notably, the winners of these two groups cannot meet defending champions and world number one the Springboks until the final, presuming the Springboks top their own group.
Knockout Implications
If the groups play out in line with the current world rankings, other leading contenders like the All Blacks and Les Bleus would remain separated from the likes of the English and the Irish all the way to the final.
Under those circumstances, Argentina would be the remaining highly-seeded nation on that side of the knockout draw as those northern hemisphere teams.
Hosts Draw Blockbuster Fixture
Hosts the Wallabies find themselves together with their great rivals and three-time winners New Zealand in Group A.
Australia will open the tournament in Perth on October 1st, 2027 in a blockbuster fixture aimed at jump-start the event.
Elsewhere, holders the Springboks have drawn the Azzurri, the Lelos and Romania. The French team are grouped with the Brave Blossoms, 2031 hosts the United States and Manu Samoa.
Expanded Format for 2027
Argentina will face the Flying Fijians, Los Leones and Canada as the World Cup grows to 24 teams from the twenty who competed in France.
The 2027 tournament will feature a round of 16 stage for the first time in the competition's existence.
Although the winner of Pool F may be kept apart from some of the game's heavyweights initially, they will have to face the runner-up from Group B – probably the Italians – in the last 16.
A total of four of the remaining six pool winners will face a third-placed side from the pool stages.
RWC 2027 Groups
Pool A
- New Zealand
- Australia
- Chile
- Hong Kong
Pool B
- South Africa
- Italy
- Georgia
- Romania
Pool C
- Argentina
- Fiji
- Spain
- Canada
Pool D
- Ireland
- Scotland
- Uruguay
- Portugal
Pool E
- France
- Japan
- USA
- Samoa
Pool F
- England
- Wales
- Tonga
- Zimbabwe
